Cute Coffee Bar

I saw the cutest coffee bar on someone's

blog the other day and decided

that with all the entertaining we

will do during the next three months,

it would be an excellent idea for us.

We have groups of 20 - 40 at a time,

and we really need the room to move

about the serving areas.

Separating the coffee area from the food area

would free up a lot of space.

Soooo, after giving our furniture a lot

of thought, I decided what I thought

would work, presented the idea

to William and he

enthusiastically (really)

spent most of Saturday helping put

it all in place.

Six pieces of furniture had to be unloaded

and moved, drawers taken out to lighten the load.

Then, cleaning under and behind

everything. We ended up cleaning

some windows and the shutters

AND the baseboards.....quite the project.

BUT ---

we both love the payoff!
In the kitchen area, we put the

"bar" at one end of

the room, where the gigantic

old store counter was.

It is now in the dining area, buffet that was there is now in the guest bedroom

and so on......

We are enjoying it.

And we are looking forward

to the first fun event

in a couple of weeks.

Doesn't everybody rearrange

furniture by the "season"?

Gwynie Pie

Dinner's On......

Cool and overcast days like today..........really put me in the mood to cook.

Buttermilk pies. Cranberry cheese bread. A spicy tortilla soup. Or some fluffy fragrant biscuits.

I'm sure inquiring minds want to know-------- yes, she had been freshly bathed and came out of
the bathroom to find someone cooking without her. Couldn't be bothered with putting on clothes first.....

Creating all these delightful delights would be ever so much more fun if only I had my Lily Kate here to help.

Since she was big enough to sit in her high chair, she has been cooking. Her mama loves creating with food. And she
has passed that love on to her daughter. Dana would put the high chair in the middle of their very small kitchen and
she and Lily Kate would fix dinner for Daddy.

When Lily Kate comes to Pops and Pies house, we almost always cook something yummy.

And honestly, she would rather cook than watch Little Einsteins.

Bon Appetite !!!

Gwynie Pie

Pumpkin Topiary

Finished pumpkin topiary Tracing the leaf pattern (or any pattern you might want)
onto the pumpkin



The line-up of the supplies you will need for this project ----

I love to blog browse. I have found some of THE most fantastic, creative ideas out there.

AND the best part, of course, is that these ideas come from THE most fantastic, creative people !!

I wanted to show you the "how-to" for making

the super cute pumpkin topiary

BUT

I want you to travel over http://frugalfineliving.blogspot.com/2009/08/diy-day-pumpkin-topiary.htmlto

a very fun blog

and see where I got this fantastic idea.

You'll love visiting with Jane at

http://frugalfineliving.blogspot.com/

Jane has a ton of great ideas, recipes to die for, fun Fall decorating ideas,

good stuff....

A very creative lady who enjoys frugal fine living !

Gwynie Pie

"Fancy" Chandelier

We needed a "fancy" drippy chandelier to hang in the big backyard tree for Lily Kate's birthday party a couple weekends ago.

Sooooo- I set out to make one. I remembered an old black iron candle-lier that had been put away in the barn. So, I dug that out and
spray painted it Heritage White, a can of paint I already had in my paint stash.

Next, I hot glued 3 strands of crystally Christmas garland. This part was amazingly easy. The only hard part was making sure each "drip" was equal. I bought these garlands at Hobby Lobby 1/2 price, spending a total of $3.00.

Then, I looked at small canning jars, Dollar Tree glasses and teacups to glue on each arm and hold a candle. However, teacups would cost too much. And I couldn't stand to ruin a teacup like that anyway.

My friend Elaine came to the rescue with 5 mis-matched clear punch cups. And my daughter, Dana had 5 sweet old china saucers without any cups. Soooo

the saucers glued upside down onto the arms and the punch cups glued onto the bottom side of the saucers.

I found a box of vanilla scented tealights on sale at Target and voila !!!

Fancy, Drippy, Crystally Birthday Chandelier !!!!

And I love it so much hanging in my living room.

Saturday was a fun day for thrift store shopping. Here are just a few of my acquisitions --

I saw an ad for 50 burlap coffee bags for $15.00. We have a large coffee distributor in our hometown and they have an abundance of
burlap bags. Problem is --- they stink!!! I had all sorts of plans for these bags -- framed out in old wood. Made into cute "green" grocery totes. Pillows. Seat covers. I was thinking of tons of cute things to do with these bags. If only they didn't have that funky smell.....

So my husband hung them out on our fence. We figured some fresh air and sunshine would perk them up over time. We didn't even dream we would have rainy days to give the bags a good washing. Now -- they are smelling much better and I'm about to bring them in and start transforming them into something fun.

My grandmother had a wonderful collection of state plates, which I now have. I just never could think of anything cute to do with them and have tried more than a few times to sell them without any luck. I finally just decided to grow the collection, so I'm always on the look-out for a state I don't have yet.

I found these 3 plates - Missouri, Arkansas and California -- at a local thrift shop on Saturday at their half-price sale. I have a "rule" that I don't pay more than $7 for a plate. That makes the hunt a lot more challenging. Well, these three plates cost me a whopping 50 cents each !!! Gotta love that!

And this cute little sugar bowl was a bargain at $4. "Azucar" bowl. I couldn't pass it up.

It was a "Fancy" birthday !

A perfect Sunday afternoon.
Mama and Daddy
Uncle Toot
Aunt Ronnie and Uncle Roos
GG
Chris, Charla and Cora
Pops and Pie
And everyone dressed up "fancy".
Pink sparkly cupcakes
Drippy chandeliers hanging from the trees
Jigs even dressed up "fancy" in a pink princess crown and a feather boa
What more could a girl want for a
beautiful and fun 3rd birthday party???

A short stack of old bibles tied up with some old lace. The bibles belonged to family members. The stack is usually much taller,
but the ends of the books above the fireplace are presently being anchored by some enormous family bibles.

PIE

That's me!


Wishing you a just perfectly wonderful Fall day, ya'll.....

Gwynie Pie

I saw this decorating idea using old books a couple years ago. And since I have an abundance of old books, I tried it. Loved it. Use it every year. Each year is very different in look and feel, as I have to start "from scratch" every year crafting the pile of books just right. Just so. It takes a little time. But so satisfying to my eyes.


Buffet holds my Grandparents mantle clock. It always sat above the fireplace in their home. I loved spending time at my Grandparents and can still "feel" the warmth there, whatever the season.

Still keeps perfect time. I think of it as the "heartbeat" of the home. Chiming out the hours. Beautiful.

Living !!!! Room --- ahhhhhh

What a beautiful morning ! It was 51 degrees here last night. We've been sleeping with the A/C off and the windows open for a while now. But last night --- there was definitely some pulling of covers going on. Mmmmmm - perfect sleeping weather ! I have the kitchen French doors flung open this morning, doing a little catch-up on the laundry and putting the finishing touches on a "fancy" candlelier that will hang in the back yard from the big old ash tree, over the cupcake table, for Lily Kate's birthday party on Sunday.

I finished up the painting in the living room and finally got to the really good part --- decorating, of course. Here's a look at the new wall color - called Hot Chocolate -- which I absolutely love!

The beautiful framed picture above the armoire, which hides the tv and all the little black boxes, is from William's mother. Sadly, we know nothing about its history. We found it in an ancient trunk, along with all manner of other curious items. This picture is painted on black velvet. There was a back piece to it, so I suspect it was at one time a pillow.

The words say When Autumn Leaves Are Falling.

Just perfect ! It fits perfectly in this old frame I spruced up with a little flat black spray paint.

Stay tuned for pictures from the rest of the room.

More Fall Decor

Decorating for Fall is always such a thrill for me.

It means we are heading into a season of "cozy". And I want every person who comes to my home to feel just that. CozyAnd Blessed

What a beautiful word!

Fall is a time to slow down a little.
Gather family and friends around.
Count your blessings.

I am so very Blessed!




Thanks for stopping by,

Gwynie Pie

Finally, after two weeks of picking paint colors, trying out paint colors, disliking those colors, choosing new ones......I am done !!! Yea!


I chose a color called Vanilla Creme to cover the formerly Lobster red walls in the dining room. Should you attempt a similar feat -- I have one word for you, just four little letters --- K I L Z . I didn't. Lesson learned.

Did you know it takes 5 coats of Vanilla Creme to cover over Lobster red? Now you do.



I LOVE decorating for Fall. Very fitting that on this first full day of Fall.

These pictures are in no real order -- the first ones are just shots of Fall decor in the kitchen.

Our dining table with a burlap runner. I literally bought the very cheapest burlap I could find. It's called utility burlap and cost less than $2 a yard.

I've used this burlap throughout the house as runners on tabletops.
I also used it on the armoire doors to hide the television and technical boxes that go with that.

I also have a project planned to stencil on the burlap and make throw pillows.....stayed tuned.


I love using my scripture dinner plates. Each plate has a different scripture that is a promise. I used the rocks in the middle of each plate as the "place card" and it is really neat how when you read the first part of the scripture, then the person's name, and then the last part of the scripture -- it really is sweet and personal.

"No one can imagine what God has prepared, Lily Kate, for those who love Him." Sweet!


I finished up the entire living room painting this morning. The total project took only about 3 1/2 hrs. I wasn't covering up a dark red, so it was a snap to get it finished.

I am putting the final decorating touches on that room and will post the living room pictures next.


Whew !!! I'm also getting ready for a huge weekend of fun stuff. My Daddy's family reunion will be here on Saturday. Everyone comes mid-morning, we eat and visit all day long.

Then on Sunday after church, we will have a birthday party for Lily Kate. She is 3 ! Such a big girl. I'm working on making a chandelier to hang out in the tree in the backyard over the table.

We are all going to dress up a little crazy --- and have an Alice in Wonderland kind of experience. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures of that as well.

Well ----- Happy Fall everyone.

Gwynie Pie

Count Your Blessings

...name them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God has done.

Several years ago, my good friend Richelle and I were given several opportunities to speak at surrounding churches about something dear
to our hearts - decorating for the holidays and how to keep the LORD
at the center of it all.

We had so much fun brain-storming and creating and we came up with
lots of fun ways to decorate emphasizing Christ as the center of the home.

One of my favorites, and one that both of us continue in our homes today is
the Blessing Rocks.

All through the Old Testament, God instructs His children to "remember". God wanted them to remember where they had been before He delivered
them. He wanted them to never forget all the great things He had done.
And many times they were instructed to build an altar of rocks so that the generations to come would, when they saw the altar, remember the things the Lord had done in their lives.

This is our modern day equivalent --- we got bags of river rock at Dollar Tree and for rocks that are a little larger, when you need more room to write, I have found bags of rocks at Wal-mart.

With a Sharpie pen, I have written on each rock just enough to trigger our memories and allow us to recall the miracles and blessings the LORD has brought into our lives.

On the large rock in the center of the platter, I have written Psalm 102:18 ---
"Write down for the coming generation what the LORD has done,
so that people not yet born will praise Him."

On the smaller rocks I have written blessings from the LORD such as "$20 miracle money, Safeway". We were grocery shopping with extremely limited funds and I was trying to get the most for my very few dollars. I turned away from the cart to pick up an item and when I turned back around a crisp 20 dollar bill was laying on top of my purse. There was no one close around and neither the kids nor I had seen anyone, yet there was a wonderful provision of money at a time we needed it most.

"Devin, Heart surgery, 1996" The LORD brought him through that very serious surgery and healed him in a miraculous way.

"Dana and Blake" God brought our daughter and her husband together in a very unique way that only He could have done.

And the list goes on and on. It's just such a sweet way to remember what the LORD has done in our lives --- His healing, His provision, His direction ----and every time we remember, it's just another opportunity to give Him praise.